HYDERABAD: Cyberabad police on Thursday said that 11 phones of five persons — who are suspected to have secretly recorded videos of girl students using the bathrooms in the hostels of CMR Engineering College, Medchal — have been sent for forensic analysis after no objectionable clips were found on the devices.
The cops, acting on allegations by the students, carried out a preliminary probe to verify if any such video were on the devices. Medchal ACB B Srinivas Reddy told TNIE: “Although no obscene videos were found, we wanted to make sure that the suspects did not delete them.”
On Wednesday and Thursday, the students staged a protest against the college management and hostel warden Preethi. They accused the mess staff of secretly recording their videos and peeping into bathrooms. After questioning the five suspects and examining their phones on Wednesday night, police released them. However, their fingerprints were collected for verification.
Earlier, based on a complaint, police registered a case under Sections 77 (watching or capturing images of a woman engaged in a private act) and 125 (endangering personal safety or life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
A student said the management has provided accommodation to the mess staff at the back of the hostel, giving them opportunities to access the girls’ bathrooms after their work.
Srinivas Reddy said after being alerted, Medchal Inspector A Satyanarayana and other cops went to the college where students told them that they had complained about the issue to the warden, but their concerns were dismissed.
No grills on bathroom ventilators: ACP
The police called a fingerprint team to collect samples from the location where suspicious activity was reported. Two sets of fingerprints were found and are being analysed, it is learnt.
“During our visit, we observed negligence on the part of the management. They had not installed grills on the bathroom ventilators, which contributed to the entire problem. When we questioned the principal, they claimed that the issue had never been brought to the management’s attention,” the ACP said, adding, “If we find evidence of negligence by the principal or warden in this case, we will take criminal action against them as well.”
Addressing rumours circulating on social media platforms about 150 to 300 obscene videos on the phones of suspects, the ACP clarified that no such content was on their devices.
A student from the college stated that they became aware of the incident on December 31. “We complained to the warden, but she dismissed our concerns as baseless,” the student said.
Commenting on the absence of obscene videos on the suspects’ phones, another student remarked, “There wasn’t even a single application on their phones. They had deleted all their data. If they didn’t do anything wrong, why did they delete everything?”
Warden suspended
District secretary of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Ravi Teja, said he had spoken to the students. “The students told me that catering staff targeted four or five bathrooms on the ground floor and recorded videos using their phones. When the students approached the warden, she responded negligently and even made inappropriate remarks,” he said.
On Wednesday, several parents arrived at the college to express their anger over the incident. One parent, who said he had paid Rs 1.3 lakh in fees, criticised the management not only for the lack of safety but also for poor food quality. “When I told my daughter I would speak to the management, she warned me that they might retaliate by cutting her marks,” a student’s father shared.
In response to the allegations, the college management has suspended warden Preethi and initiated an internal inquiry into the matter.